


Boys Will Be Bugs

by mddnapstablook



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Depression, Established Relationship, M/M, also this is third person pov but also gonta's pov, everyone but shuichi and gonta are only there briefly, idk what else to tag, okay so, watch as i heavily project onto shuichi once a-fucking-gain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 23:16:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18200327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mddnapstablook/pseuds/mddnapstablook
Summary: [title is taken from a cavetown song and really has nothing to do with this fic except that i like it and it fits well enough]When Shuichi doesn't show up to class, Gonta worries.





	Boys Will Be Bugs

Attending classes at Hope’s Peak is anything but mandatory, but Gonta enjoys going to class. He likes learning new things, and he likes getting to see his friends in class. And, it doesn’t hurt that Gonta sits next to his boyfriend, Shuichi, in class. Gonta thinks he’d go to class just to see him. Sometimes, during partner projects, on the rare occasions that no one else is vying for Shuichi’s attention, Gonta gets to hold Shuichi’s hand between their desks while they work together. 

Gonta hopes it’s one of those days when he enters his class and takes his usual seat. The desk beside him is empty, as of that moment, but he’s not worried. Shuichi always shows up to class last. He sleeps in and rarely eats breakfast (unless Kaito or Kaede can force him to), so he’ll probably arrive right before the bell goes off. 

Gonta frowns when the bell rings and everyone has arrived _except_ Shuichi. 

The teacher rattles off the attendance list, but when she gets to, “Saihara, Shuichi?” there’s silence through the room, and everyone looks around. A few people shoot Gonta a look, too.

“Shuichi isn’t here today?” the teacher asks in general, not looking up from the attendance sheet as they check off his name. 

“I asked if he wanted to get breakfast, but he said no,” Kaito replies idly. “I guess he’s skipping today.”

“Shuichi is skipping class? That’s not like him,” Kaede says. “Maybe he’s sick?”

Gonta frowns. Normally he doesn’t mind not having a phone, because his fingers are too big for the buttons, and anything he could do on the phone he could just as easily do on a computer, which is generally much more difficult to break. Now though, he wishes he had a way to check on Shuichi and make sure he’s okay. 

“Did he look sick when you checked on him?” Kaede asks, and Kaito shrugs. 

“He seemed okay. Just, uh, I don’t know.” Kaito shrugs again. “Off, I guess.”

Off. “What that mean?” Gonta asks, and everyone turns to him as if suddenly remembering that he exists. 

“Oh, hey, yeah, Gonta, do you know why Shuichi is skipping?” Kaito asks. 

Gonta shakes his head. “Gonta not know why Shuichi not in class. What you mean ‘off?’”

Kaito waves him off, and Gonta feels mildly annoyed by it. “Gonta want to know what Kaito mean by Shuichi being ‘off,’” he repeats. 

“I would tell you if I knew, man, but he was just acting… bitter? Like he was angry or something. I don’t know.”

“Angry?” Kaede asks, but the teacher shushes them. 

“Once the bell has rung, class has begun,” the teacher recites, and if Gonta could slump down in his seat, he would. 

He’s just confused, honestly, because when he last spoke to Shuichi, which was only last night, Shuichi had seemed fine. They’d sat in the A/V room watching bug documentaries together and holding hands, and Gonta had even worked up the nerve to kiss Shuichi on the cheek. It had been so nice! What happened after they went their separate ways? Was Shuichi… mad at Gonta?

Gonta tries his best to focus on the lesson, but he can’t. He’s too worried about Shuichi. 

Of course, there’s a partner project. Gonta’s the odd one out with Shuichi not being there, and he frowns as he’s given the choice of partnering up with another group or working by himself. 

“Yoohoo! Gonta! You can work with me!” Kokichi shouts from where he’s sitting in the back of the class with Kiibo. Kiibo nods when Gonta raises a brow at him. 

“Okay,” Gonta says hesitantly as he stands to move over to where they’re working. 

“Good morning, Gonta,” Kiibo says pleasantly as Gonta sits with them. 

“Good morning, Kiibo!” he replies, politely. Even if he’s worried about Shuichi, that’s no reason to forget his manners. “Good morning, Kokichi!”

Kokichi waves him off, erasing something he wrote down and re-writing it. “So where is Shuichi, huh? You gotta know, right? Since you two are like, in love or whatever.”

“Kokichi,” Kiibo warns. 

“What? It’s an honest question.”

“Nothing about you is honest,” Kiibo sighs. 

“Wow! Cold words from a truly heartless robot.”

Kiibo doesn’t even seem like he’s going to dignify that with a response at first, but then he replies, “I know that was supposed to be robophobic, but I really don’t have a heart. I’m an advanced AI inside-”

“Like I care,” Kokichi says, rolling his eyes. Gonta doesn’t say anything, but he wants to admonish Kokichi for being so rude to Kiibo. Kiibo doesn’t really seem to care all that much though, or perhaps he’s just used to Kokichi’s abrasive attitude. 

“So, Gonta,” Kokichi begins, turning his attention back to Gonta. “You know why Shuichi skipped, right?”

Gonta shakes his head. “Gonta really not know. Shuichi seem fine last night.”

“Ohhh, scandalous!” Kokichi cackles. “What were you two doing last night, huh? You know, it’s against the rules for us to stay in each other’s dorms.”

Gonta’s not sure what Kokichi is implying. “Gonta not stay in Shuichi’s room? Gonta sleep in Gonta's room.”

Kokichi nods, like that explains everything. “Yeah, your bed is probably bigger anyway.”

“Kokichi,” Kiibo says again, and Kokichi gives him a disinterested look before groaning. 

“Jeez, you’re both so boring.”

“We’re trying to get our work done, and not gossip about one of our friends. And leave Gonta alone, he doesn’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Huh?” Kokichi blinks at Kiibo, and then at Gonta. “But Gonta, you know what I’m talking about, right? You and Shuichi slept together, didn’t you? That would explain why he’s not here today. You probably tore him in two with your massive tree di-”

Kiibo pokes Kokichi in the side, and electricity shoots through his metal fingertip into Kokichi’s torso. “Ah, shit! What the fuck was that?”

Kiibo smiles, seemingly delighted. “I didn’t think that would work,” he admits, looking down at his finger. “I need to thank Miu.”

At once, Kokichi’s eyes light up. “Did you just electrocute me? OMG, do it again! Do it again!”

Kiibo balks. “No!”

Gonta watches the two of them go back and forth for a moment before he furrows his brows and looks down at his worksheet. He doesn’t understand anything on it, having zoned out during the entire lesson. He has the rest of the day to work on it though, and it’s nearly lunch, so he’s not overly concerned. But, he does think that he won’t be getting any of it done working with these two. 

Pushing up his glasses, Gonta thinks that this would be going a lot better if Shuichi were here. Which, of course, just makes him worry again. He tries to think over what happened last night again, to try to remember if there was a point where he noticed Shuichi acting odd. 

But, when Gonta thinks about it, Shuichi was acting pretty normal. Maybe a little subdued, if anything. Less animated than usual, but that doesn’t really mean much since it’s not like Shuichi is a big ball of energy. Actually, Shuichi kind of reminds Gonta of bugs. He’s quiet and calculating, and often would rather be left alone. It’s part of why Gonta likes Shuichi so much. He’s so smart and kind, and he treats Gonta like a real person and not an idiot like a lot of the other students tend to if they can be bothered to be around Gonta. 

Gonta thinks that he and Shuichi are both like bugs, in that sense. 

When Gonta tunes back into Kokichi and Kiibo’s conversation, they’re both scribbling furiously on their worksheets, nearly finished. 

“I’m just _saying_ that if you’re gonna let that pig whore trick you out with actually cool robot powers, then you should at least show them off.”

“Don’t call her that,” Kiibo says. 

“Gonta’s lost,” he says, referring to the worksheet. Kokichi and Kiibo both turn towards him, clearly having forgotten he was even there. Gonta’s not even surprised. 

“We know you are, Gonta. We know,” Kokichi smirks. 

Gonta at least doesn’t have to bother thinking of a polite reply to that, because the bell rings, signifying lunch. Gonta nearly leaps to his feet, eager to return to the dorms to check on Shuichi. 

It doesn’t take him long to reach Shuichi’s dorm room. He rings the doorbell once, and then he waits. He stands there for a few minutes, waiting to see if Shuichi will answer. He doesn’t, surprisingly. Maybe he’s asleep? If he is, he might actually be sick, Gonta thinks. Perhaps he should go get the nurse? But he has no idea who she is or what she even looks like, so it might take a while. Perhaps he should ask someone else to get the nurse? Kaede would likely know who to look for. 

Gonta rings the doorbell again, just to check. Shuichi may not even be in his room, he supposes. Shuichi could be in his own research lab, or in the nurse’s office if he really is sick. Shuichi knows how to take care of himself, most likely. Gonta is probably worrying too much-

The door opens a crack, and Shuichi sticks his head out. “O-oh, hello Gonta.”

Gonta releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Shuichi is okay?”

“Um, yes?” Shuichi says softly, though his tone seems unsure. “I’m fine. Is that all?”

His reply is a little curt, and it makes Gonta’s heart pang. Did he do something wrong? “Gonta just check on you because Shuichi not in class. Gonta worry Shuichi sick,” and Shuichi actually chuckles at that. 

“Well, I’m not sick, so you can go. I’ll see you tomorrow,” and Shuichi starts to close the door. 

Gonta knows it isn’t very gentlemanly of him, but he sticks his arm out to stop the door. “If Shuichi not sick, what wrong then?”

Shuichi seems surprised by Gonta’s question. “N-nothing! I’m fine. I just didn’t feel like going to class today.”

Gonta studies Shuichi’s face, taking in the dark circles under his eyes. Had those always been there? “Or eating breakfast?”

Shuichi nods. “Yeah. I wasn’t hungry.”

“But you hungry now?”

Shuichi opens the door a little more, and Gonta takes in his appearance. Shuichi is wearing his hat, which is very uncommon. Shuichi rarely wears his hat anymore, and his clothes are all rumpled like he slept in the woods or something. (Gonta would know.) Gonta knows he isn’t very smart, and definitely not as smart as Shuichi, but he thinks he’s gotten pretty decent at reading Shuichi, and he thinks there’s something very wrong with him right now. 

“I, ah, I just ate. So no, I’m not hungry.”

“What you eat?” Gonta asks.

“Pardon?”

Gonta adjusts his tie and tucks a piece of his hair out of the way. “What Shuichi eat? Gonta come to check on Shuichi and maybe eat lunch with him, but if Shuichi eat already, then Gonta leave. What did Shuichi eat?”

Shuichi’s eyes flick down to the ground, and then back up. “I, ah, I had an apple. I’m not very-”

“Shuichi lying?”

Shuichi doesn’t say anything as he starts to shut the door again. “I’m sorry, Gonta, I’m not feeling well. I think I’m going to get some rest.”

It hurts, a lot. Gonta just wants to help. He’s so worried about Shuichi, and all Shuichi is doing is pushing him away. “Gonta just want to help!” he says, louder than intended. “Gonta just want to know what wrong!”

Shuichi pauses. Then, he opens the door all the way. “Okay. You can come in,” he says quietly, and Gonta enters without a word. 

The light is off, and Shuichi’s room is drenched in darkness. There’s a pill bottle on Shuichi’s bed, and Gonta squints at it. Shuichi clears his throat and picks the bottle up and tosses it in the trashcan by his desk. 

“What that?”

Shuichi sighs and sits down on his bed. Gonta sits beside him, and after a second of silence, he takes Shuichi’s hand. Shuichi takes his hat off and runs his hand through his hair. It’s too dark to tell for certain, but Gonta thinks he can see the start of Shuichi’s black roots fading into his artificially blue hair. 

“I…” Shuichi trails off. “I’m on medication. For, um, for depression.”

Gonta doesn’t know what to say. He says as much, and Shuichi laughs weakly. “It’s fine,” Shuichi says. “I don’t expect you to say anything.”

Gonta frowns as he looks at their intertwined hands. Shuichi’s hand is so much smaller than his own, he thinks. Well, everything about Shuichi is smaller. Not necessarily fragile, just small. Like an ant. Ants are also very intelligent, like Shuichi. 

Shuichi doesn’t like ants. He hides it as well as he can, but Gonta isn’t a complete idiot. Gonta, of course, loves them. 

They’re quiet again, and then Gonta asks, “why Shuichi no go to class? And why he no eat? Is it because of depression?”

Shuichi is quiet for a second before he replies, words coming out a little stilted. “Kind of. I’m not hungry because, uh, because I ran out of my pills. I take them twice a day, and I forgot to get the prescription filled so, ah,” Shuichi shakes his head, “so I ran out. And the withdrawal makes me nauseous.”

Gonta nods, because that, at least, he can understand. People forget things all the time, and even if it’s something that’s so clearly important, Gonta can’t blame Shuichi for forgetting about this. Still, he feels bad. He feels like if he’d known before, he could have reminded him, and then Shuichi wouldn’t be sick. 

Gonta realizes he’s not really sure what depression is. He considers asking, but he doubts that Shuichi would be willing to explain it to him right now. 

“Gonta get Shuichi water?”

Shuichi blinks and looks up from where he was staring down at the floor. “What? No, I’m fine.”

Gonta shakes his head and stands up, adjusting the bug cage over his shoulder. “Gonta get Shuichi water! Even if he no want to eat, he still should drink water! Gonta be right back!”

Gonta doesn’t wait for a reply as he leaves to get Shuichi water. After he’s brought Shuichi a few bottles from the vending machine, he tells Shuichi that he’s going to lunch, but that he’ll be back to check on Shuichi later. Shuichi seems a little irritated by Gonta’s help, but Gonta doesn’t mind taking care of Shuichi.

Gonta skips class for possibly the first time in his entire life. The library is a lot bigger than he remembers it being, but he brushes it off and looks around, trying to find what he’s looking for. He only really knows where the insect books are, so it’s a bit of a lost cause. 

“W-what are you doing in here?”

Gonta whirls around to see someone he vaguely recognizes as the Ultimate Writing Prodigy. He’s never talked to her before, actually. She’s an upperclassman, and kind of intimidating if he’s being honest. 

“Gonta like your glasses!”

The girl shakes minutely, and then she tears at her hair, gritting her teeth. “Ugh, what-what-what do you even want? Why are you here? Go aw-away,” she says. Then, under her breath, she starts muttering. “Big gross bug guy, showing up and lying, saying he likes my glasses. Ugh!”

Gonta frowns at her. “But, Gonta no lie!” he shakes his head. He’s getting off track, and he should know by now not to engage with some of the students here. “Gonta just looking for books on depression!”

That gets her attention, and she tugs at her pigtails. “W-why would you be interested in something like that?”

Gonta considers telling the truth, because that’s what a gentleman would do. But, gentlemen also know to respect people’s privacy, and above all else, he wouldn’t want to just go around telling Shuichi’s business. 

Evidently, the girl is tired of waiting for Gonta to respond. “Ugh, you’re k-kind of slow, aren’t you? Typical. L-look, just, the books on mental health are over there, okay? Just go aw-ay. Leave me alone,” she spits, pointing in the complete opposite direction. 

Gonta looks over at where she’s pointing, and then he turns back to her and smiles. “Thank you!”

She groans again, tugging her hair. 

Gonta supposes that that is that, so he turns to look through the books that she’s pointed him towards. 

There’s a lot of different books, but Gonta is unsurprised by that. There are books on anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD, DID, and a slew of other topics that Gonta knows he’s heard of before but really knows nothing about. His eyes settle on a thin book on depression though, and he pulls it out and starts flipping through it. 

It isn’t long, but it is dense, and Gonta thinks he’ll need to take it back to his room to really study it and figure out how he can best be there for Shuichi. He skips to the end, where there’s a section on what someone can do for a friend or family member diagnosed with clinical depression. 

Gonta stops by his room to leave the book on his desk to read over before bed, and then he rings Shuichi’s doorbell again. 

Shuichi answers fairly quickly this time, and his tone is a little… off, when he greets Gonta. 

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Shuichi asks.

Gonta shakes his head. “Shuichi is more important than class!” he objects. 

Shuichi shakes his head. “I’m, I’m really not.”

Gonta shakes his head again. “Gonta think he is! Gonta think Shuichi very important, and he matter to Gonta a lot. Gonta want to help Shuichi feel better! Gonta read about depression, and he think he know how to help. Gonta bring dry shampoo!” he holds out the bottle that he’d retrieved out of his own room. Dry shampoo was a life saver when Gonta would go out into the woods for a few days. His family had raised him to take care in his appearance, and he wasn’t going to let a few days without running water get in the way of that. And dry shampoo seemed easier than asking Shuichi to wash his hair. “Gonta help Shuichi wash hair?”

Shuichi’s eyes flick from Gonta’s face to the bottle of dry shampoo in his hand, and then his eyes start welling with tears. Gonta feels his heart sink. He didn’t want to make Shuichi upset!

“Gonta is sorry! Gonta no mean to upset Shuichi! Gonta can leave if that would make Shuichi feel better!” he apologizes quickly, and then he starts to turn around to leave, but Shuichi reaches out and grabs his wrist. 

“No, please stay,” Shuichi says, blinking the tears away. Shuichi sniffles and clears his throat, opening the door for Gonta to come in again. “I want you to stay,” Shuichi nearly whispers, eyes cast down. 

Gonta takes Shuichi’s hand and leads him over to his bed, having him sit down as Gonta gets behind him and pushes his hat off so he can work the dry shampoo through Shuichi’s hair. It’s still really dark in the room, but with the door left open, light from the hall leaks into Shuichi’s room, and Gonta is certain now that Shuichi’s roots are showing. His hair is also really limp, the cowlick that normally sticks up like an antenna is lying flat against his scalp. 

Gonta scratches lightly at Shuichi’s scalp as he works the shampoo in, and after a few moments, Shuichi is leaning into the touch and sighing. 

“Gonta read that physical contact helpful with people who suffer from depression,” Gonta comments idly. Gonta sits back on the bed. “Gonta want to turn light on and shut door.”

Shuichi nods, and Gonta moves to do that. When he turns back to face Shuichi, Shuichi is crawling over his bed to get under the covers and lay down. He looks a little better, and Gonta observes that the water that he’d gotten for him is gone, so he must have drunk them. Good, Gonta thinks. He considers leaving to get him more, and possibly something to eat as well, given the time and that Shuichi hasn’t eaten anything all day. But, then Shuichi sits up and looks off to the side, covering his lips with his hand, as if to hide his expression or muffle his words. 

“Will you lay down with me?” he asks. 

Gonta hesitates for a second, but then he nods and walks over to Shuichi’s bed, feeling awkward with his big lumbering limbs as he tries to get comfortable next to Shuichi without bothering him or accidentally elbowing him. 

Shuichi sighs and cuddles into Gonta’s chest, closing his eyes. “Thank you, Gonta,” he whispers. 

Gonta doesn’t respond at first, afraid that his voice will somehow ruin the moment. Shuichi opens his eyes and tilts his head up to look at him though, so he replies. “Gonta just do what he think right. Gonta really care about Shuichi, so he want to help Shuichi feel better.”

Shuichi closes his eyes again and gets comfortable, laying across Gonta’s chest. Gonta wonders if Shuichi can hear his heart beating. “You didn’t have to, though. I didn’t expect you to. No one else has ever really…” Shuichi trails off. “Just… thank you.” 

“You welcome,” Gonta replies softly.

**Author's Note:**

> it's ya boi, back at it again with more saigonta bc i've hit writers block and saigonta is the only thing i seem to care about anymore. and, like, half of the saigonta on this site is just porn, so. comments and critiques are super welcome! i just love feedback of any kind tbh. and please, if you catch any mistakes, please let me know. I don't have a beta, so the only person who reads any of this after im done writing is me, myself, and Grammarly. thank u so so much for reading <3 xx


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